


Cultural Misunderstandings

by TheLittleLostTimeLord



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Eli is trans, F/M, M/M, Zeb and Kal need to talk instead of assuming things, he is also pregnant, kanan knows too much about alien sex, no homophobia or transphobia, there is xenophobia though, xeno as in aliens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-12-14 16:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11786769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLittleLostTimeLord/pseuds/TheLittleLostTimeLord
Summary: Kallus wants Zeb. Zeb wants Kallus. Literally everyone sees it but them and Hera sends them on a trip to work it out.





	1. Chapter 1

“Let me see it.” The lasat insisted, following Kallus to what had been Kanan’s room before he finally moved in with Hera. Kallus huffed and closed the door behind him, knowing it wouldn’t hold Zeb off for long. Even if he used the strongest locking setting all the lasat would have to do would be to find the droid or Sabine and they’d disable it.

Zeb waited all of two minutes to let himself in. Kallus was busy digging in one of the drawers, looking for his medkit. It wasn’t easy to do single handedly. He didn’t turn to look at Zeb when he heard the door open and the lasat entered. If he had, he might have been prepared for Zeb sweeping him off the floor and pushing him onto his bunk. Zeb got the medkit and sat beside Kallus. He tried to roll the former imperials sleeve up, but when that made Kallus wince silently, decided instead to remove the shirt entirely.

If it had looked bad with the shirt on, the bo-rifle wound looked worse without it. Zeb thanked the Ashla he’d had it in training mode, even if that was designed for training with other lasats. He could only imagine how much worse the wound would have been otherwise. Kallus groaned as he began to rub bacta into it. Slowly the human relaxed, leaning back against Zeb’s chest slightly. He tilted his head to the side, resting it on his shoulder and Zeb’s heart skipped a beat.  He knew Kallus didn’t know what bearing one's neck in a situation like this meant for lasats. Zeb finished wrapping Kallus’s wound and laid him down fully before making a swift exit to deal with his erection in his own bunk.

Kallus sighed heavily as the door closed. Zeb must have noticed the tent in his pants, Kallus reasoned. This was what he’d hoped to avoid today. He’d come to terms with the fact that he was attracted to Zeb fairly quickly after he came aboard. The more time he spent with him the more it was made clear to Kallus that the attraction wasn’t purely physical. He’d spent a while denying himself completely, before it all became too much. On a ridiculous whim decided to try. He’d challenged Zeb to a friendly bo-rifle match. And then another and another, trying to prove his strength, but he was still healing from Thrawn’s assault. Usually it ended with Zeb standing over him, victorious. He’d help Kallus up and thank him for the match before they parted to clean up. The more he healed the closer he came to victory and the harder Zeb had to fight. It relieved some of his tension.   _Maybe that’s why the Jedi used to train so much._

He’d thought, no he’d hoped, stupidly, that his plan was working. Proving one’s strength to a potential mate was very important for lasats. He’d done that; he was sure of it. It had seemed to be going so well. He seemed to always find himself at Zeb’s side at meals and other crew gatherings. They had a playful banter. Slowly Kallus had begun to increase the amount of physical contact they had; small things at first: brushing their arms as he walked past, laying his hand on Zeb’s shoulder. One night after sparring nearly all day he’d started to fall asleep leaning on Zeb. Zeb had wrapped his arm around Kallus almost instinctively and rubbed the man’s arm gently.

Then he’d gone a screwed it all up. He’d cried out when the bo-rifle made contact with his skin, dropping his own weapon and falling to the ground holding his arm. He could feel the blood rolling down his arm and had stumbled to his feet, as Zeb stood looking horrified. He hadn't planned for Zeb to follow him to his room or sit right behind him, Kallus almost in his lap, as the lasat bandaged the wound. He certainly hdn’t planned to bear his neck like that; he’d skipped several steps, but he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t even realize what he was doing until it was done.

Kallus knew lasats. After the massacre he’d taken it upon himself to learn everything he possibly could, trying desperately to make amends he knew were not possible to make. He knew the laws and culture. He even knew a bit of the language, though he’d never tied to speaking, only reading and writing. Relationships were not something most lasats entered without the full intention to take the other as their mate at the end. It didn’t always work out but it was definitely not taken as lightly as dating was for humans. There was a procedure.

1 A potential suitor had to prove themselves to be an equal. There were many ways this could be done and just proving you were equal did not even always mean one was looking to pursue the other. It was the foundation of many social connections for lasats.

2 A potential suitor would begin to occasionally and casually make physical contact. This allowed the lasats to scent potential mates. It was also the step that indicated romantic intentions. Of course Zeb did often make friendly physical contact with the others and Kallus was fairly certain he wasn't courting any of them, so perhaps he hadn’t understood Kallus’s intentions.

3 At this point the potential pair would spend more and more time together, getting to know one another. Essentially they’d go on dates together for while.

4 If a potential pair seemed to be working out their families would begin talking about the possibility of their mating and would exchange gifts. Given that Kallus’s family thought he was dead and would immediately disown him if they found out other wise and Zeb’s family was dead and they were adults, Kallus had assumed this step would likely be skipped. Unless Zeb wanted to sit down with the rest of the crew a discuss his potential sex life, which Kallus highly doubted.

5 If the families agreed to the match they’d sent the pair off on a trip for up to a month to live together in the wilds. If the families did not  approve the couple would either part or, more often, run off together. Some couples had sex at this point some didn’t. Kallus had assumed that a mission with just him and Zeb would have stood in for this step, had they reached it.

6 If the pair still intended to mate after the trip they would move in together.

7 When they were ready they’d make the mating official by marking each other with their bites at the base of the neck. Generally this was initiated by the more submissive member of the pair baring their neck. It was at this point that any pair that had not had sex would.

They’d barely been in step three, if Zeb had actually understood Kallus’s intentions, and he’d accidently skipped to step seven. Essentially he asked Zeb to marry him, or at the very least fuck him. He need to cool down.

Kallus slipped a loose fitting shirt on and made his way out of the ship. He would walk around the base for a while, clear his head and think about how this would all blow over.

“Hey, Kallus, where’s Zeb?” Sabine asked him as they passed each other.

“How should I know?” He hadn’t meant to snap at her. “Sorry, I’ve got a lot in my head right now. I think he’s in his room.”

She nodded. Tempers, he supposed, were nothing new to her. After all she was Mandolorian.

 

For the next few days Zeb kept his distance from Kallus. He desperately wanted to be near him. He hadn’t noticed just how close he and Kallus had become until it had fallen apart. Kallus had no idea why he’d left so quickly. Kallus probably assumed _he’d_ done something wrong. Humans did things differently. He’d seen enough holo-vids to know that. With them it was all about gifts and soft touches and candlelit dinners and, eventually a ring and a big ceremony. It was nothing like the way it worked with Lasats.

The whole crew noticed something was off between the two of them, but, thankfully, none of them said anything, at least not to him. Sabine was looking after Kallus’s wound, which made Zeb feel a little better. She’d keep it well cared for.

 

_-_-_-_-_

 

“Zeb, Kallus, I’ve got a mission for you.” Hera announced nearly three weeks after the incident. Kallus was fully healed and they’d begun speaking again, but it was stiff and uncomfortable, nothing like the easy rhythm they’d fallen into before.

“Uhh...Hera.” Kanan began. Hera shot him a glare and he raised his hands in surrender. Kallus still didn’t know how he could tell what she was doing without seeing. Maybe it was Jedi thing. Maybe it was because they loved each other.

“We found Thrawn’s weakness.” Kallus couldn’t believe his ears. Hera continued. “A man named Eli Vanto.”

“I’ve heard of him. He was Thrawn’s aide. It was the peak of imperial gossip for a long time.” Kallus commented.

“Why?” Zeb grunted.

“Vanto translated for Thrawn when he first came to the empire. They were basically joined at the hip, even after Thrawn didn’t need help with Basic anymore. Everyone thought they were sleeping together, which would be gossip anywhere, an officer and his aide, but because Thrawn isn’t human it was all the more scandalous.”

“If they’re so close why haven’t we see him?” Ezra asked from the couch where he was laying on this back with his head over the edge, see how long he could stay like that. Kanan Shot him a disapproving face and Ezra sat upright, rolling his eyes as the blood drained from his face and returned to the rest of his body.

“Thrawn sent him back to his home planet, Thrawn’s not Eli’s.”

“Why?”

“That depends on who you ask. Some say to help them become a more active part of the Empire. Some say that Thrawn secretly doesn’t trust the Emperor and sent him there to keep safe.”

“Yeah right!” Ezra laughed.

“What I think: Eli was pregnant. I’ve seen holovid, he clearly had gained some weight and considering how hard Thrawn trains I doubt it was from inactivity. It would have sunk Thrawn’s career: knocking up his human aide. While the Navy has come to tolerate an alien officer, barely, a mixed child would never have been accepted. At best Eli would have been dishonorable discharged and Thrawn would have never seen him again.”

“Holy shit!” Sabine exclaimed.

“He’s been spotted. I don’t have much to go on but we’re sending a two man team, you two.”Hera briefed them on the specifics of the mission and sent them on their way in the Phantom II.

“You sure this is going to work, dear.” Hera asked Kanan after the shuttle made the jump to hyperspace.

“It should if we’re right about the problem and I remember my sex ed class, which I do. I will never be able to forget Master Trafski explaining the sexual parts and practices of pretty much every sentient species there is.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These boys need to talk. Eli gets captured. Ezra says "fuck"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the patience. I know this took forever. Right when i was going to work on it I had sudden personal loss (no one died) and couldn't focus on writing. I'm also back in school after being a college dropout for a year and a half. That's going really well. So it shouldn't be too long until the next chapter is up.

Maskora was unbearably hot. When he’d been on Bahryn, Kallus would have given anything to be in a desert like this, but he did not want to be there now. As unpleasant as the last two days had been for for him, Kallus was more concerned about Zeb. The Lasat was panting very heavily. He also was refusing to listen to Kallus’s insistences that he drink more water.

“You’re the one who can sweat. You’re going to dehydrate before I will.” Zeb insisted. “Drink the water. I won’t be able to carry you if you pass out.”

“You’re going to get heatstroke and I sure as hell can’t carry you!” Kallus protested.

“It’s not going to matter.” Zeb sighed.

“Why?” Zeb pointed behind Kallus to the ship taking off from behind the next dune. “Fuck!”

“Do you think he knows we’re following him? The pick up’s two days early.”

“Who knows. We should get back to the ship and report back to Hera, maybe she can tell us where that ship’s going.” They were silent on the way back to the ship.

_-_-_-_-_

Vanturn was a small mostly frozen planet. It was just their luck that Hera hadn’t been able to get the exact coordinates Vanto’s ship had landed at and they’d most likely be spending the better part of a week trying to find Vanto. Kallus bundled up thoroughly while Zeb landed the shuttle. Neither had spoken much during the long flight. Zeb put on a few protections against the cold as well. Kallus assumed, his fur would keep him warm enough. If it didn’t, well that was Zeb’s own fault for not donning more clothing. They each shouldered a pack of supplies and Zeb hit the button lowering the ramp.

“Just like Bahryn.” Zeb laughed as a freezing gust struck them head on.

Kallus nodded, unsure whether or not Zeb would be able to see the action under his layers. He seemed to get the message and they set off. It was probably good that he and Zeb weren’t really speaking, because anytime Kallus did have to say something the cold nearly froze all the moisture in his mouth.

When it started to get dark Zeb stopped them and pitched their shelter. It would shield them from the wind and some of the cold, but it wouldn’t be warm. The temperature on Vanturn dropped dramatically at night.

Kallus shivered slightly as he ate his ration bar. He desperately wanted to be warm. He wished he’d been able to take his meteor with him when he left the empire, but he’d barely been able to escape with the clothes on his back. Zeb had lead an ill advised, unauthorized mission to steal his bo-rifle back from Thrawn, who’d hung it up as a trophy, as though it belonged to him now; making a mockery of the Boosahn Keeraw. The meteor shouldn’t matter. It was just a rock, but it was the rock from when Zeb turned him in the right direction. He drew his legs up to his chest and hugged them, tucking his face in. He was still cold. Soon he felt a strong, warm pair of arms pull him across the shelter. He looked up and found himself snuggled close to Zeb. He relaxed further into the lasat until he remembered.

“Zeb…”

“No, you were shivering to much. I know humans. You’re staying right with me. Can’t have you freezing to death now can I?”

Kallus felt it might be better if the lasat did let him die. It’s what he deserved after all. He’d destroyed Lasan. He didn’t deserve to live, let alone be loved. What had he been thinking before? And yet, Zeb was holding him close, resting his head on Kallus’s as the man buried his face in the lasat’s chest. He didn’t even deserve Zeb’s friendship, but he couldn’t stop himself from snuggling in closer. Then, slowly, he fell asleep in Zeb’s arms.

When Kallus first woke he thought for sure he must still be dreaming. Waking up tangled in the same sleep sack as Zeb, it didn’t seem possible. The lasat was still sound asleep so Kallus made no attempt to untangle himself, opting instead to once again bury his face into Zeb’s fur. Gods he loved the way he smelled. Kallus sighed. He was far past the point of no return by now. It was Zeb or nothing for him.

Zeb began to shift and stretch. He blinked his eyes open and, when he say who he held in his arms, smiled. Kallus smiled back at him. Then Zeb drew Kallus closer to his face and kissed him. Kallus decided he must still be dreaming. Kallus’s arms found their way to the back of Zeb’s head and he began to gently scratch behind the lasat’s ears. Zeb purred as he kissed Kallus deeper. Kallus moaned into the lasat’s mouth.

“Hello?” A voice outside called, suddenly bringing the pair back to reality, both suddenly realizing they weren’t dreaming. They pushed each other away unable to make eye contact.

“Hello?” The voice asked again. “I assume you’re hear to collect us.”

Then the zip to their shelter was opened and a man entered carrying a rolled up blanket. The man sat down, not seeming to notice, or at least not care, that Zeb and Kallus were still in the same sleep sack. Hera hadn’t said there’d be others on the planet. Maybe he’d crashed and mistook them for his rescue. Now that he was seated Kallus could see that the rolled up blanket was actually a baby, whose skin looked slightly blue. Kallus quickly got up and reached for the medkit. The man laughed.

“She’s fine. She’s not freezing.”

“She’s blue.”

“Her father’s chiss.”

“Eli Vanto.” Zeb concluded. All the layers he wore had made it impossible to identify him.

“Yes, you’re here to arrest me or take me prisoner or whatever right?”

Kallus nodded.

 

_-_-_-_-_

 

Zeb cuffed one of Eli’s arms to a sturdy pipe and he sat on the floor of the _Phantom II_ with his baby held to his chest, nursing. Kallus made his way to the back of the shuttle and sat across from Eli. Zeb began take off. Not a single word had been exchanged between the two of them. The baby started fussing and refused to continue nursing.

“What’s her name?” Kallus asked Eli, not looking at him.

“You won’t be able to say it. It’s Chiss.” Eli dismissed him as he lay his daughter in his lap and used his uncuffed hand to recover his chest with his shawl. He’d had no reservations about feeding his daughter in front of the rebels. He knew in some of the inner rim and core planets it was considered rude or even obscene to do so, but that wasn’t the case in Wild Space. Nor was it the case on Csilla. It was clear to him that it made Kallus uncomfortable. That made Eli smirk.

“I can try.” Kallus looked at Eli now that he was covered once again.

“Mitth’iki’vanto.” Eli answered, almost challenging Kallus to try.

“That’s quite a name for one so small. It’s very pretty though. How old is she?”

“A bit over a year.”

The time line fit Kallus’s theory, but it was also possible that the child’s father wasn’t Thrawn, but some other chiss, that Eli had met after he’d been sent away.

“He won’t be happy that you’ve taken us.” Eli stated flatly.

“Who?” Kallus asked even though he knew the answer.

“Thrawn. Have you ever seen him angry? I mean truly angry not just annoyed.” Kallus nodded; he’d taken the brunt of the anger. “He’ll be even worse when he finds out you’ve taken his daughter.”

“Then why did you give yourself up?”

“You would have found me anyway. I wasn’t really hiding, just waiting for a pickup to go home. You were going to take us. I figured it’d be best to do it in the way least likely to upset my child. I knew you wouldn’t hurt us. You need us for leverage.”

 

_-_-_-_-_

 

“How are the love birds?” Eli asked Hera when she brought him food later that day. His cell was less an actual cell and more a very well secured bunk. It was comfortable enough.

“What do you mean?” Hera assumed he meant Kallus and Zeb; he hadn’t met very many other rebels. But Kallus and Zeb seemed worse around each other than before they left.

“The lasat and the blond one.”

“They aren’t a couple.”

“They were about an inch from fucking when I found them, curled up in a single sleep sack and making out. Not that I’m judging.” Eli shrugged, stroking his daughter’s sleeping head. “Oh and if you’re planning on keeping me here for a while you should know there’s about an 80% chance I’m pregnant.”

Hera sighed. “We’ll run a test. Anything different about this than a standard pregnancy?”

“No, but Mitth’iki’vanto was very blue at birth, which might freak out your medics if I have the kid here. That’s normal.”

Hera nodded and left. She found Kanan working with Ezra on lightsaber fighting and signaled he needed to come with her. Kanan dismissed Ezra to do as he pleased. Once Kanan and Hera were in their quarters Hera spoke.

“It worked.” She sighed and shook her head. “But then they somehow screwed it up again. I just assumed since the mission ended up being so short nothing had happened. How are they so dense?”

Across the ship Ezra burst into his and Zeb’s room. Zeb was laying in his bunk going over some intel.

“You fucked Kallus!?” The boy shouted excitedly not sounding at all surprised.

Zeb stared at Ezra. “We aren’t even on speaking terms right now.” He chose not to elaborate and say that he’d really like to have fucked Kallus.

“You don’t need to be talking to fuck.” Ezra teased.

“I’m telling Hera and Kanan you’ve been saying ‘fuck’.” Zeb tried to ignore Ezra and return to his previous task.

“Gron says he smells like you.” Ezra continued.

“We went on a mission together. When and why were you talking to Gron?”

“He was dropping of some supplies. Kallus helped him unload the ship. He said this was different. He told me to congratulate you on ‘claiming’ Kallus.”

“I’m not sleeping with Kallus.”

“Suuuure….” Zeb threw a pillow at Ezra who retreated from the room. “Just let me know before you fuck him in the room. I don’t need to see that”

Zeb growled after him.

Kallus was bouncing his leg as he sat on his bunk, trying to figure out what to do. Gron knew, somehow, he liked Zeb and there was no way that information wasn’t getting back to Zeb, considering Ezra had been there. Gron had said something to the boy that Kallus hadn’t heard before wishing Kallus luck with Zeb and departing. Ezra had all but sprinted back toward the ship. Kallus had considered trying to catch him and find out what Gron had said, but several years had proven that Ezra was faster than he was, so he made his way back to his own bunk to panic in private.

It took several attempts but, eventually Kallus was able to lift himself from the bunk and walk on shaky legs to Zeb’s room. He opened the door, his heart pounding like a drum.

“Go away, Ezra!” Zeb shouted before looking up. His face softened when he saw who it was. “Oh.”

“We should probably talk.” Kallus barely managed to get out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is probably going to end up being more than 3 chapters, but whatever. 
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://www.wolfstarforever.tumblr.com)  
> [My Writing Tumblr](http://www.thelittlelosttimelord.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zeb and Kallus work it out. Ezra's a little shit. They call Thrawn.

Zeb was at a loss for words for a moment before he shook his head and quietly said. “Alright.”

Kallus shut the door behind him and took a seat in a chair facing Zeb on his bunk. The two of them sat in silence for what felt like eons, occasionally making eye contact only to immediately look away. Kallus bounced his leg and tried to keep his breath steady. Zeb noticed.

“Kal?”

“My name is Alexsandr.” Kallus looked up at the lasat. “You can call me whatever you want but I thought you should know.”

“Alright, Lex.” Zeb smiled widely. Kallus couldn’t help but smile back. No one had ever called him Lex. His parents only ever called him by his full first name. His sisters used to call him Alex when they were younger, but had stopped as they aged.

“Sorry I just don’t know where to start. You–You kissed me.”

Zeb scratched the back of his head and he smiled awkwardly. “Yeah...sorr-”

“I liked it.” Kallus cut him off. “I like you.

Zeb froze and blinked a few times in silence. “You like me?”

Kallus nodded shyly. “Quite a lot actually.”

Zeb laughed happily. “Well, I like you quite a lot too, Lex.”

Kallus met Zeb’s eye and held it for the first time in a long time. “You do?”

“I kissed ya didn’t I?” Zeb teased.

Kallus blushed as he laughed. “You did. Would you like to again?”

“Yes.” And with that Kallus had crossed the space between them, climbing into Zeb’s lap and locked their lips together. He loved the feel of Zeb’s fangs as the scraped his lower lip, not hard enough to draw blood. He moaned and reached around Zeb’s neck, pulling himself closer to the lasat. Zeb growled possessively as he wrapped his arms firmly around Kallus.

“I knew it!” Neither of them heard the door open. “I told you to let me know befor-”

“Fuck off.” Zeb flashed his teeth as he growled at Ezra. Kallus couldn’t help just laugh as he buried his face into Zeb’s shoulder to hide how much he was blushing. Ezra took off running.

“Perhaps we should relocate to my room, where we won’t be disturbed.”

Zeb purred and stood, still holding Kallus tight to him and made his way to Kallus’s room. He laid Kallus on the bunk before pausing. “Tell me if you want to stop. I won’t b-”

“I know. I will.” Kallus pulled him down to continue kissing him.

_-_-_-_-_

Zeb woke to find himself covered in cum, with Kallus’s head on his chest, sleeping. Kallus shifted slightly and groaned, sleepily as he woke. Zeb stroked his hair as Kallus looked up at him through his eyelashes, smiling. Then, because he was sleepy and sexually sated, Kallus took a leap of faith.

“Muurri buutska.” He knew his pronunciation wasn’t perfect, but he trusted Zeb to know what he meant.

Zeb felt his heart skip a beat. He looked into Kallus’s eyes. “You know Lasat?”

“Some. I learned after…” Kallus looked away, until Zeb moved his chin so he was facing him again.

“You were trying to court me.” Zeb chuckled. Kallus blushed.

“Yeah, not very well, I guess. Considering you didn’t notice.”

“Oh, I noticed. Just didn’t think you knew what you were doing.” Kallus nodded against Zeb’s chest. That made sense. The lasat had no reason to think he’d know about the mating rituals of lasats. “I didn’t want to tell you in case you weren’t actually interested. I didn’t want you to stop hanging out with me and sparring with me.”

“Mmm. Not planning on it.” Kallus hummed. “Gods, you smell good.”

“Most humans don’t think so.”

“Well I do.” Kallus insisted. “Now, knowing what we both know about Muurri buutska and about each other I have a question for you. I’m not going to be upset with any answer. Do you want to skip a few steps and move your stuff out of Ezra and your room?”

“Not sure we’d be skipping anything. May not have been formally courting but we pretty much covered it all. But, yes, Lex, I do.” Kallus moved so he could kissed Zeb again.

"I like it when you call me ‘Lex’.” Kallus smiled, stroking Zeb’s chest.

Then there was a banging on the door.

“We’re all very happy you two finally worked it out, but he are currently holding the grand admiral’s boyfriend and daughter captive and need to have a meeting.” Sabine shouted from the other side. “Get dressed. Meeting’s in fifteen minutes.”

_-_-_-_-_

Zeb and Kallus awkwardly stumbled into the main room of the _Ghost._ Kallus couldn’t make eye contact with anyone, considering they all knew how he’d spent the afternoon. Zeb was in a similar situation, although he was glaring at Ezra, almost challenging the boy to make a comment. Eli sat on the couch. Mitth’iki’vanto sat next to him. Now that she was awake Kallus could see some strikingly human characteristics. She shared Eli’s honey brown eyes instead of the terrifying, piercing red, that were Thrawn’s. She did however have Thrawn’s ability to look as though she knew more than you could ever possibly hope to. She was chewing aggressively on something brightly colored, while her father stroked her short navy blue hair.

“Alright here’s the plan.” Kanan broke the silence. “We’re calling Thrawn.”

“Won’t he just track us using the signal?” Kallus asked.

“Sabine says she’s what was it 94%?” Kanan asked. Sabine nodded. “She’s 94% certain that if we keep the call under five minutes they won’t get past her encryption. We need Thrawn to know Eli’s been taken.”

“Make sense, destabilize him emotionally, make him worry. Not sure if will work on Thrawn, since he’s, well Thrawn, but worth a shot.” Kallus commented.

“Imperial Navy, how may I direct your call?” A disturbingly cheerful voice answered when they placed the call.

“Grand Admiral Thrawn. Rukh. Tell him it’s about Nightswan.” Kanan repeated the instructions Eli had given him, hoping it wasn’t a trap.

“Right away, sir.”

When the call was answer Thrawn seemed very surprised. “Eli, has something happened? Where are you?” Thrawn asked, noting the distinctly un-Chiss like decor in the background. Hera stepped into frame and Thrawn’s features hardened instantly. “Captain Syndulla.”

“We have Vanto and the child. As of right now we have no demand, and no plans to surrender them. They will not be harmed.”

“Ticsi! Ticsi!” Mitth’iki’vanto cheered when she noticed the holographic imagage above her. Thrawn's features softened a bit, but not much.

Before Thrawn could respond, Eli began speaking in a language none of ghost crew had ever heard. They scrambled to cut off the transmission before he could give Thrawn any information, if he even had any. Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to let Thrawn speak to Eli. Mitth’iki’vanto began to scream reaching up at where her father’s image had been seconds before. Eli pulled her into his lap.

“What did you say? What language was that?” Zeb grabbed the front of Eli’s shirt.

“Cheunh, though not very good Cheunh, with a bit of Sy Bisti mixed in. I’ve only been speaking it for about a year. I was telling Mitth'raw'nuruodo he is going to have another child.”

“Telling who now?” Zeb asked.

“My husband, Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Thrawn, the blue man who what just on the screen.”

“Didn’t know he had a fancy name.” Zeb rolled his eyes, letting Eli go.

“You thought he had a mononym? That he was just Thrawn?”

“Thought it was his last name like Kallus.” Zeb shrugged.

“That’s not how Chiss names work.” Eli rolled his eyes.

“Would you shut her up?” Zeb shouted, tired of hearing Mitth’iki’vanto shriek.

“It would help if you didn’t yell at her. She’s upset. She doesn’t know where her father went.”

Hera stepped in before the situation could deteriorate further. “I’m taking Eli back to his cell. There’s no use having him loose. All of you behave while I’m gone.” She directed he gaze toe Kanan and Ezra who both offered mild protests as she left. Zeb breathed a sigh of relief as Mitth’iki’vanto’s scream faded.

“Well, that was unpleasant.” Kallus noted, causing Zeb to laugh.

“Yeah that’s a word for it.” Zeb countered.

“Unlike some things you experienced to day.” Ezra teased. Sabine doubled over laughing

‘Ezra!” Kanan scolded as Kallus blushed and Zeb stared daggers. Kanan pointed at the door and Ezra obeyed. Sabine shuffled out awkwardly after him. Kanan looked as though he was going to say something, before deciding not to and following his kids out.

“You ok?” Zeb cupped Kallus’s face. Kallus nodded, still too embarrassed to speak. “Let’s go for a walk, get away from the others for a bit.”

Kallus nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is not basis for Lasat so I'm making it up.  
> Muurri buutska- the name for the Lasat courting process  
> ticsi-father


	4. Chapter 4

“That was...fast.” Kallus stated awkwardly once they’d settled under a tree, not touching

“I don’t have to move into your room, Lex. This can be a one time thing if you want. No hard feelings.” Zeb offered, not making eye contact.

“No! I don’t want it to be a one time thing.”

“What if i move some of my stuff in, until we both feel a little less impulsive and high on sex and this new...thing we have and can make a rational decision.” Zeb offered.

“That’s probably the best plan.” Kallus scooted closed to Zeb who draped his arm across Kallus’s shoulder. Kallus leaned his head on Zeb. Slowly the two of them drifted off to sleep.

 

_-_-_-_-_

 

“The blind man is in charge of making sure I don’t try to run or discover rebel secrets.” Eli laughed. Kanan had be tasked with supervising Eli and Mitth’iki’vanto trip outside of the base. Everyone agreed the little girl needed some time to move around and some sun.

“You’d be surprised what I can do. Besides this is just a storage depot. Best info you could get would be inventory.” Kanan couldn’t help but smile a bit. This was a nice change from their usual missions and having Mitth’iki’vanto had got him thinking about his future with Hera and the family they could have one day, after the war was won.

“I’m sure I would be. I’ve see holos of Jedi. Thrawn’s always been fascinated by the Jedi.”

“Really now?”

“Not the force part of it though. It was the history, the rituals, how so many different species shared in the culture. We used to sneak out at night and explore the old temple ruins...I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.”

“Like it would do me any good. Thrawn’s not going to break during battle because I remind him of your midnight dates.”

Mitth’iki’vanto was rolling in the dirt. If Thrawn had been there he’d have been horrified, but Eli just laughed. “We’re lucky this outpost has bathtubs, because she _will_ cake herself in mud and then drag it everywhere.”

“Well Mitth-Mit-Miith-”

“Thiki, just call her Thiki.” Eli supplied. “It’s not worth having you people tripping over her name, besides, it will make her feel safer.”

“Thiki’s only one. Sabine and Ezra do the same thing and their nearly grown.” They both laughed. Thiki looked up from rubbing mud on her stomach. “Dada, ch'ean'i”

“Ch'ah veb ch'acin't. Vah viz k'ir ch'a von'cin'hn.” Eli replied. “We’ll have to give you a good scrubbing tonight in the bath.”

Thiki giggle and clapped her muddy hands together, splattering mud everywhere.

 

_-_-_-_-_

 

“I take it you're who they sent to escort me to the pantry.”

“Will that be a problem?” Kallus asked.

“Not at all.”

It wasn’t a long walk to food storage. When they arrived Eli declined Kallus’s offer to help and went about searching the shelves.

“You know, Captain, I don’t really care who wins this war. Win or lose Thrawn will come home to me once it’s over.”

“You were in the Navy.”

“And you were an ISB agent. Things change. Did you find out where all doonium went?”

“The what?”

“Nevermind that.” Eli waved his hand in the air. “I know you see Thrawn as heartless and ruthless, it’s an easy mistake to make. Chiss don't emote like humans. They use micro expressions, easy to miss. He still cares. He’s different from the other in the empire. He never would have given you those disruptor rifles.”

“What do you know about Lasan?”

“It wasn’t supposed to me a genocide. There are ethics to war that should be respected. You were emotionally compromised; you should not have been on that mission, let alone leading it. They knew this, they needed to break you. You’re a good man, too good for the empire.”

Kallus sighed.

“He knows what we know: the empire is wrong, but who will keep the balance when it falls? Your Rebellion? This ragtag, barely held together organization? The Jedi used to.”

“And what is Thrawn’s plan for when this ends?”

Eli smiled and silently turned back to the food shelves. He selected several small tin of mashed food for Thiki. Then he returned to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ch'ean'i = look
> 
> Ch'ah veb ch'acin't. vah viz k'ir ch'a von'cin'hn. = I see sweetheart. You've made a mess.

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](http://www.wolfstarforever.tumblr.com)   
>  [My Writing Tumblr](http://www.thelittlelosttimelord.tumblr.com/)


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